Josh Colby wakes up at 7 a.m. every morning. He goes to the gym then rushes to his first class at 10. After a full day of school and homework, he heads over to the Provo plasma center to trade his plasma for cash.
Because of Colby’s busy school schedule, 19 credits, he had to quit his full-time job and use an alternate, unconventional method to earn money.
“Donating plasma is a pretty good jig,” Colby said. “It’s easy, pretty much anyone can do it, it doesn’t take too long and the money is alright.”
Colby said he wishes he had time to have a steady job but knew it would be almost impossible to do well in school while working part-time or full-time.
There are many students with situations like Colby’s and are using creative means to keep money in their wallets.
Sierra Waters, a senior, has made her living by selling her old clothes and random items on eBay. Waters goes through her parents’ house and collects home décor, old books and old kitchen supplies that they no longer use and resells them on eBay.
“It’s pretty good money, and I can do it whenever I have time,” Waters said. “I’m kind of like my own boss, which is nice since I’m so busy with school and everything else. It’s nice to still have somewhat of an income.”
Waters said most of the girls she knows have clothes that they don’t wear anymore, so she will often ask if she can take them off of their hands and sell.
“Most of the girls I ask say yes,” Waters said. “They aren’t wearing the clothes anyway, so they don’t mind giving them to me.”
Another student uses her talents in the kitchen to earn money. Mallory Gonzalez has always loved baking. When she started attending UVU this year and gained new financial responsibilities, she decided to utilize her hobbies as much as possible.
“I’ve always loved to bake. You know, cookies, brownies, cakes; all kinds of dessert,” Gonzalez said. “When I started school and needed money I thought I’d try selling my desserts.”
Gonzalez said she had to wait a little while for her small business to start making a profit, but with the help of her new blog and her friends doing some free advertising, her cliental began to grow.
“I don’t make tons of money, but I do have some regular customers. It’s fun and enjoyable and of course, the money is nice,” Gonzalez said.
There are many other students on campus who like Colby, Waters and Gonzalez have found that earning money is possible even for the busy college student. All it takes is a little creativity and thinking outside of the box.
